Interests:User name says it all- Dive &amp; Golf, plus a little fishin' when I can.

Posted 26 December 2012 - 06:33 AM

I'd also consider Raja Ampat for that time of the year. There are some very nice liveaboards. Professional photogs that I have traveled with, have told me that they prefer Raja to PNG. Not by a great margin though. I've done Lembeh and found that Raja was more diverse. Others will disagree I'm sure.

For leafies in ADL, call Carey Harmer. He's an expert guide who's led many a people, including Alex Mustard.
On Kangaroo Island,the nicest places are far from Kingscote but nice. Southern Ocean Lodge is on the other side of the island but has a spa. A bit closer is Sky House, which is awesome and the chef is excellent.
Oz must dives is the Yongala, which is easiest done from Ayr. It is just bursting with life. Forget Whitsundays and go to Osprey and Coral Sea. Plenty of luxury liveaboards out of Cairns like the Spirit of Freedom.
PNG is awesome for macro in Milne Bay, good for pelagics. Fiji has big pelagics like sharks and gorgeous soft coral, but not a lot of biodiversity. Solomon is similar but has more WWII wrecks.
Raja Empat is certainly a top choice and there are plenty of luxury liveaboards. There are also nice resorts like the Misool Eco Resort, which sits on some of the best dive sites in Southern R4. If traveling from Oz, I'd stay for a few days in Bali, although Dec is kinda wet.

Drew
Moderator
"Journalism is what someone else does not want printed, everything else is public relations."

"I was born not knowing, and have only had a little time to change that here and there.

Misool eco resort in Raja Ampat is supposed to be very nice too. The diving off Misool is fantastic and that would solve the issue with liveaboards...
There are also other places beside Tulamben in Bali that offer great diving whether you like macro or big fish.